Chapter 3

The silver prison door slammed shut behind me.

I was an ordinary she-wolf. My tolerance for silver was nowhere near a warrior's.

In less than ten minutes, my skin erupted in burning red welts—itching and stinging at once.

The sealed space was saturated with silver toxin. Every breath felt like inhaling fire.

I pounded on the door. I screamed all night.

No one came.

My voice gave out completely.

I curled up on the one small patch of floor in the center of the cell that wasn't lined with silver.

Covered in welts, my consciousness started to slip.

I don't know how much time passed before the door opened.

Cain stood in the doorway.

When he saw the state I was in, his brow furrowed sharply.

He walked in quickly and crouched down in front of me.

I felt his hand touch my forehead. Burning hot.

"Don't do something that cruel again." His voice was soft.

My lips twitched.

A miserable smile.

I was in too much pain to even explain.

He said "cruel."

I'd been locked in a silver prison for god knows how many hours, my skin blistering and infected, nearly dead.

And I was the cruel one.

Cain had just carried me out of the silver prison.

Vivienne happened to be walking down the hallway toward us.

She was carrying a bowl of dark liquid, all smiles.

"I specially prepared a silver-detox herbal remedy for the Luna. To help her recover."

Cain looked pleased. He turned to me and said, "See? Vivienne is so good to you, and you keep misunderstanding her."

He took the bowl and brought it to my lips himself. "Drink."

I looked into Vivienne's eyes. A flash of malice, there and gone.

I tried to refuse.

Cain thought I was being difficult. His tone carried a hint of exasperation. "Stop being stubborn. It's good for you."

He held the bowl steady against my lips, his other hand cradling the back of my head. The liquid poured down my throat.

It wasn't a detox remedy at all.

It was diluted wolfsbane.

My wolf felt like it was being swallowed by fire. My entire body seized violently.

I couldn't breathe. Everything went black.

Cain panicked and grabbed me. "What's happening?! Wren!"

Vivienne covered her mouth, putting on a perfect look of shock.

"Maybe being in the silver prison too long weakened her body, causing a rejection reaction..." Her voice trembled—a convincing performance. "I'll go prepare an antidote right away!"

She turned and ran.

My consciousness shattered into pieces in the agony.

When I woke again, I was lying in a bed at the healing center.

Cain was sitting beside me.

He looked like he'd been sitting there a long time.

In his hand was a brand-new moonstone bracelet, the stones glowing with a faint silver-white light.

"This will help repair the damage the silver toxin did to your wolf." He carefully slipped the bracelet onto my wrist, his movements gentle, avoiding the welts that still hadn't faded. "I had someone buy it overnight from another pack at a premium."

I said nothing.

"I shouldn't have left you in the silver prison that long." There was unmistakable guilt in his voice. "I didn't consider your tolerance for silver."

I still said nothing.

He was quiet for a moment.

Then he changed the subject.

"Because of everything that's happened, Vivienne's reputation in the pack has hit rock bottom." He sighed. "A lot of healers are openly questioning her abilities. Some even filed a joint petition to revoke her healer credentials."

I stared at the ceiling.

"I'd like you to publicly reconcile with Vivienne at the next Pack Assembly."

My fingers slowly clenched the bedsheets.

"Not an apology," he added quickly. "Just a public display of goodwill. A handshake, a few kind words."

He looked at me, his tone suggesting this was a perfectly reasonable request. "If the pack sees that the Luna and Vivienne have no conflict, she can continue her work as a healer in peace."

I slowly turned my head to look at him.

My mother was in a permanent coma because of her.

I'd just been force-fed wolfsbane and nearly died because of her.

And now he wanted me to publicly "reconcile."

"Absolutely not."

Cain's expression darkened.

"You put wolfsbane in her food, and she was still kind enough to bring you a silver-detox remedy." His voice was tight with barely contained anger. "Can't you be even a fraction as generous as she is?"

My lips trembled violently.

I was the one who poisoned her.

I was the one who wasn't generous enough.

Cain paused, then lowered his voice.

"If you agree to reconcile, I'll release your brother from the silver prison in two weeks."

Ethan.

The silver prison, saturated with silver toxin—could Ethan's body hold up?

How long had he been in there?

Was his skin blistering like mine had? Had he screamed himself hoarse with no one coming?

I closed my eyes. "...Fine."